


Overstory: Temporal Amalgamation

by Pulsation_Incantation



Series: Overstory [1]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Timelines, Gen, Meta, Other, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-23
Updated: 2015-12-06
Packaged: 2018-05-03 00:56:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,399
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5270549
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pulsation_Incantation/pseuds/Pulsation_Incantation
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Thanks to Sans' awareness of the fate of the timelines, The Player gives the world within the game Undertale the ability to continue on past it's final moments, but the presence of a threatening entity endangers the futures of multiple worlds.</p><p>Part 1 of a 3(?) part series.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The End

**Author's Note:**

> I based this story on the way that Toby Fox brings the person playing the game into the narrative. He does in such a way that the player becomes an actual character in the narrative: in a way that doesn't equate the player to the character they control. As such, I tried to experiment by bringing the player themselves into my story.
> 
> Nearly all of part 1 has been planned out, but not written yet. Parts 2 and 3 take place after the story of this work, but aren't completely outlined yet.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ((Sorry this chapter is so short. It's meant to set up future events.))

The player sat back for a moment, reeling from their recent undertaking. They had just murdered friends and loved ones. They had just destroyed an entire universe. They had just signed over their own soul, just to undo the horrible atrocities they had committed. And all out of what, morbid curiosity? The player couldn’t help but feel some sense of self-loathing from their actions…

Normally, the player would never even consider entertaining these thoughts. After all, they had done it countless times before to countless other universes; but the presence and actions of a certain skeleton brought these ideas to the forefront of the player’s mind, and wouldn’t permit them to leave.

“you can't understand how this feels. knowing that one day, without any warning... it's all going to be reset.”

Those words rang in the player’s ears on loop: The idea that that the state of that universe was contingent not only on their actions, but on what they decided to do with that world once the end was achieved, and that one of the universe's inhabitants _knew_ about it. The choices they made influenced the world on a scale that the inhabitants would never know, with this singular exception. It gave the player a sense of obligation to give them all the most content lives they could provide. That is, until…

“until suddenly, everything ends.”

The player wanted to convince themselves that simply restarting the universe and sparing everyone would bring back their happy ending, but they knew it wouldn't. The moment the ending is reached, the universe comes to a close. There is no life for the inhabitants to enjoy afterwards. In the end, all their struggles are for naught and time comes to a sudden stop on the sound of a door closing.

In some sense, the player felt indebted to the “characters” they had met along the way for the incredible narrative they all came together to create and the lessons they taught; but even stronger than that was a sense of guilt in the conclusion to their existence.

As much as they didn’t want to do this, they felt a sense of accountability to their world and to them: to SAVE them.

The player took a deep breath, and got to work.


	2. Longevity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The new family of seven gazes out upon the surface, contemplating what their future has in store for them.

The climb had been arduous, but everyone’s fatigue seemed to vanish the moment the early morning’s sunlight touched them. Six of the seven stood in awe of the world they had been separated from for generations: the radiant, orange-yellow rays of the rising sun, the rolling hills in the distance, a society they might learn to coexist with peacefully…

“Oh my…” began one of them in a gentle voice, but she quickly silenced herself as she took in more and more of the scene. Toriel had been anticipating this moment for countless years, and she could barely contain her excitement. They all stood in stunned silence before someone else spoke up.

“Isn’t it beautiful, everyone?” The man’s usual royal, booming voice was hushed, feeling as if making his presence known was an affront to the artistry of his surroundings. Asgore had stumbled many times on his way to this resolution, but he had finally seen his people to freedom.

“Wow...it’s e-even better than on TV…” The girl felt her old preconceptions of the surface melt away into appreciation for that which was revealed in front of her. Dr. Alphys had only seen glimpses of the surface through what little visual media she could get her hands on, but seeing it in person was--“WAY better! Better than I ever imagined!”

“Frisk, you LIVE with this!?” Though she could observe the new world with all of her senses, the girl couldn’t help but have some disbelief what she was seeing. Undyne could have never imagined herself being this overwhelmed viewing the surface for the first time. “The sunlight is so nice...and the air is so fresh! I really feel alive!”

“Hey Sans…” began a boisterous, nasally voice. “What’s that giant ball?” Papyrus squinted, and pointed far into the horizon.

“we call that ‘the sun’, my friend.” responded a deeper, relaxed voice. Sans had been spacing out until he heard his brother speak.

Papyrus quickly turned ecstatic. “That’s the sun!? Wowie!!! I can’t believe I’m finally meeting the sun!!!”

The seventh did not speak, but silently observed the world they were finally returning to, now with an entirely new family. Frisk felt eager to see what their new life had in store for them.

All of them had been through so much together: heartbreak, distrust, deception, bloodshed, and even the erasure of the universe itself; yet they had also seen mercy, forgiveness, budding friendships, and a promising future as a new family.

At least, most of them did…

While everyone kept talking, Sans stood silently, staring out at the horizon. It was the first time he felt he had seen it with his own two eye...sockets…, though he doubted that was really the case. He knew the timelines reset everything, but he was never exempt from that rule. It was his first time feeling like he had seen this sunrise, but how many times could it have actually been? 5 times? 20 times? Had he had this exact conversation with everyone upon reaching the surface each time? The thought of the universe cruelly making him and everyone he knew replay this same song and dance an indefinite number of times terrified him. As beautiful as it was, looking out upon the surface for what seemed like the first time, he felt a sense of detachment from it. He heard someone say the phrase “bright new future”, but didn’t register anything else or who had said it.

“ _yeah, a future...sure…_ ” Sans thought to himself.

Sans was eventually pulled from his inner thoughts by the sound of Papyrus rushing off down the mountain, probably wanting to be the first monster to converse with humans on the surface in more than 1000 years. As much as he loved his brother, Sans knew that was a horrendous idea.

“welp. someone’s gotta keep him from getting into trouble. see you guys.” he said, and then sauntered in the opposite direction. He knew which way his brother had gone, but he felt no reason to stop him. Even if Papyrus somehow managed to spark a new war between the two races, it would ultimately be short lived. The universe would reset and no one would remember a thing. He heard Undyne calling for Papyrus in the distance, but ignored it.

Sans walked a short ways down the other side of the mountain, far enough that he couldn’t hear the others, and sat down underneath a tree. He took in the different surroundings: the smell of the fresh air, the sound of birds and rustling trees, the feeling of coarse bark on his hand…

Sans broke down.

He loved this world. He loved its natural beauty, the new chance at a better life it offered, how happy it made everyone else just to see it from a distance... He didn’t want it to be stolen right from underneath him and be left with no memory of it. Yet, he knew it was inevitable. To some degree, he wished he could be as blissfully ignorant of this fact as everyone else.

Tears slowly trailed down his face, an occasional gasp escaping his mouth. He didn’t want to be found, but he couldn’t help but let his emotions take over him.

He couldn’t stop thinking about the resets. How many times had he cried over this very thought? How many times might he have sat under this exact tree? How many times had he decided to run away, dreading the end of days? These thoughts drove him insane, especially with what he had to lose, but how many times had he even lost this?

Sans was slowly overtaken by the sound of his own sobbing, but trying as hard has he could not to draw attention to himself. He hit himself in the side of the head a few times in a thoughtless effort to beat these thoughts out of his mind, to no avail. He eventually found himself with his legs bent closer to his body and ducking his head in his folded arms, covering his eye sockets in an attempt to keep calm. He sat there alone for a few minutes.

“Uhh...excuse me…”

Sans flinched at the voice. He thought he had been far enough away that no one could hear him. He raised his head, and found himself staring at what seemed to be just a floating yellow light. As he observed the strange light, it registered to him that he didn’t recognize the voice that had called out to him at all. He tried scanning the area for anyone who might have spoke to him, but found no one else around.

“Oh, um...hi! Th-that was me. Speaking to you a second ago.” The light pulsed a bit brighter as it seemed to speak, then faded a little as it finished. Sans looked upon the strange light for a few seconds before speaking up. He quickly wiped his face, trying to hide that he was just upset.

“o-oh, uh…” he sniffled a bit before continuing “sorry, i was just umm...it’s not important. can i help you?”

“No no, I’m fine. I just...came over to check and make sure you were okay. You seemed kind of upset. Is something wrong?”

Sans got a strange feeling from this talking light. He may have lived his whole life underground and not known what the surface was like, but something about this talking light seemed like it didn’t come from either of those places.

“no, i’m alright. d-don’t worry about it. besides, i wouldn’t w-wanna _dim your spirits_.” Sans responded. He smiled weakly, but he quickly let it disappear.

The strange light was quiet for a bit, until it said “This is about the timeline ending, isn’t it?”

Sans felt his entire body tense up for a moment. How did a strange light know about the timelines too? And how did it know where to find him, the only other person who knew about them?

Sans’ tone turned grave. “And who the hell are you to know anything about the timeline?”

Unfazed, the light responded “Well, if you need a moniker to reference me by, just call me ‘The Player’.”

“The player?”

The light’s voice turned to a much more stern tone. “Yes, but that’s not important right now. Sans, I want you to listen to me.”

Sans was taken aback, as he hadn’t given out his own name yet. Even so, he found himself giving this ‘Player’ his full attention.

“I know you’re feeling a little defeated right now. I know you think that time is going to end soon and you’ll lose everything you’ve worked for, including your memories. But I’m here to tell you that isn’t going to happen. This world will go on, I promise--”

“How do you know that?” Sans fought. “How do you know that _for sure_? I’ve seen the results myself, the timelines all come to an end.”

“Well…” the voice began, but then stopped for a moment. After a few seconds, it spoke up again, with more conviction. “...let’s just say I found a way to extend it.”

“How the hell did yo--”

“Look, it doesn’t matter right now. The bottom line is this.” The Player’s voice was agitated, but they took a moment to calm itself down. “I’ve given your world the ability to continue onwards. Your timeline won’t come to an abrupt end, I promise you. And if you really don’t believe me, you can wait until what would be the final moments and watch time continue to move forwards. But in the meantime, please don’t waste your first few days on the surface distancing yourself from your new family and anticipating and ending that will never come. Because even if it did, don’t you owe it to yourself and them to enjoy what time you DO have here?”

Both of them were silent for a long while. Sans looked down for a moment to process everything he had heard. He then looked up and said “...thank you.”

The light brightened in response. “Oh, and hey, now that I think about it, aren’t you forgetting something? Or maybe a certain someone?”

Sans thought for a moment before suddenly remembering Papyrus rushing down the hill, about to be the first monster to contact the surface in over a thousand years. He suddenly jumped up. “oh my god, i... papyrus!!”

Sans immediately ran off without another word to the player. He climbed back to where he had initially exited the underground, finding it was deserted. He ran over to the ledge, and tried to scope out his brother. He finally managed to hear Papyrus’ triumphant touting, and ran off in that direction.

“papyrus!! papyrus, where are you?!” Sans yelled as he dashed as quickly has he could. He ran right past a slow-walking group consisting of Toriel, Asgore and Frisk, one of whom yelled something he didn’t manage to catch. He simply kept running as quickly has he could, panting loudly. It was the quickest he had seen himself move in years, possibly ever. He heard Papyrus’ voice getting louder and louder. Soon enough, Papyrus, Undyne and Alphys came into view. “papyrus!” Sans yelled, as he approached. Papyrus turned around to see his brother, surprised to hear him this excited. Sans tried to slow down, but quickly realized he was moving too fast to stop. In a panic, he jumped and tackled his brother, flinging the both of them a short distance into the air, and causing them to slide a few feet upon hitting the ground. Papyrus was shaken, to say the least.

“SANS!!! BE MORE CAREFUL! WHAT’S GOTTEN INTO YOU?!”

Sans picked himself up off of Papyrus. As he took in what had just happened, he let out a small chortle. By the time Toriel, Asgore and Frisk caught up with everyone, the giggling had quickly turned into uproarious laughter. It was the happiest anyone had seen Sans in a long, long time, if ever.

“heheh, sorry bro. i’m just kind of...excited, you know?”

“Oh, Sans! I’m so happy to hear you say that! You haven’t been quite this jovial in years!” He stood up and brushed the dirt off his outfit. “But you must be careful! I cannot risk being injured before my first appearance as ‘The Great Papyrus, Mascot of All Monsters’!”

Sans got a proud smirk on his face. “yeah, sorry bro. i didn’t mean to _rattle your bones_ like that.”

“DON’T MAKE JOKES WHILE YOU’RE SAYING YOU’RE SORRY! THAT IS NOT HOW YOU APOLOGIZE!!”

“you’re smiling though.”

“AND I AM HATING EVERY MOMENT OF IT!!”

Sans was beaming the whole the rest of the way down the mountain. He didn’t know why he decided to trust a strange, talking light source, but he couldn’t deny that he was infinitely more happy as a result. He had numerous questions about the light: Who or what was it? Why did it ask to be called “The Player” of all things? How did it know about the timelines ending or that Sans was upset about it? When was the final moment was he supposed to be waiting for? But for the time being, Sans decided to push these questions from his mind and be happy in the moment.


	3. Bubble Bubble, Toil and Trouble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The family adjusts to their new life, while the player learns the consequences of their deeds.

The player laughed to themselves as they watched Sans’ sudden outburst of affection, the image playing on the glassy surface of the new world in their hands. At the very least, the player could feel some pride in what joy they _did_ manage to save.

“At least I got one thing right…”

The player looked over their shoulder at the _other_ bubble: A byproduct of the player’s well-intended desires gone horribly wrong. It was shrouded in a dark veil of smoke, blocking any view of the events inside.

They set down the bubble they were holding and went over to the second. A malicious face with a crooked smile peered at them from inside as they approached. The player scowled silently at it for a moment before speaking.

“At least tell me what you hope to achieve. Is this just for power? To control your own universe? Or is there something more you stand to gain?”

The face spoke with such a gentle tone, it became discomforting. “For the god of this universe, you’re quite short-sighted.”

“Don’t call me that.”

“My ambitions stay a mystery to you, and you still believe yourself to be all-seei--”

“Not. That.”

The face paused, confused by the player’s words. When it finally understood, it let out a cackle. It continued speaking in a more excited tone.

“But is it not true? An entity which willed our false plane of existence into a simulated reality, who possesses nearly total control of that world, should they not be considered a god?”

“I don’t control that universe. It doesn’t belong to me--”

“And yet you take the helm to lead them to freedom? Or to spout valueless encouragement when an _ant_ has an existential crisis--”

“I didn’t indoctrinate him to do so.”

“Yet you still chose to meddle in a universe you claim you don’t control.”

The player became silent. The face’s smile grew wider.

“That is what I aim to reap. I have no intention of letting this potential go to waste, as you have. If you refuse to claim ownership of that which you have created…”

The face contorted into a deformed monstrosity. Its entire form appeared to be melting, as their eyes grew and turned a glowing red. “THEN I WILL USURP YOUR THRONE!”

The face vanished into the smoke, and the black haze inside the bubble cleared. An image came into focus of a child in a cavern lying on a bed of yellow flowers. The child sat up, and stared ominously into the player’s eyes. It appeared to be Frisk, but the player knew who really controlled them. They feared for the lives of those living in that world.

“If you harm a single being, I’ll destroy this universe along with you.”

The child responded “No, you won’t. Because you know what the larger consequences of that course of action would be.”

The player became silent again as the child picked themselves up off the ground.

“Don’t worry, I don’t plan to harm anyone just yet. After all, I’ll have an entire universe to destroy at my leisure, once I reach the surface.”

Smoke filled the bubble, and the player was alone once again. Their stomach churned at the thought of what might befall the universe’s inhabitants if nothing was done. Worse, they worried that this world might not be the only one in danger. They turned to their saved universe, questioning what their next course of action would be…

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

About three months had passed since monsters first arrived on the surface. At first, they were met with fear and distrust; but as time went on and Frisk pleaded for all monsterkind, integration of monsters into society on the surface came to fruition. Monsters were still being moved from the underground to the surface on a case-by-case basis (which took quite a while), but they would all find themselves on the surface sooner or later. Asgore was able to fund this process by auctioning off antique weaponry from the first war to learning institutions.

Frisk and their new family insisted on staying as close as possible, so they all found jobs and houses living very close to each other. Alphys and Undyne began living together, with Alphys working in a research facility on the nature of SOULs and Undyne working as a fitness coach. The two of them were unbelievably different, but they were committed to each other and had a strong relationship. Asgore was on his way to becoming a prominent figure in Human-Monster relations, under Frisk’s guidance. Toriel had still not forgiven him, but she at least came to tolerate his presence. Toriel was a prominent voice in the process of properly integrating monster children into existing educational institutions for humans, and was well on her way to establishing a new school geared towards monsters. She was also Frisk’s guardian now, but with how busy she tended to be, Frisk would stay with other members of the family rather frequently. They were happy with this, though, since they got to stay connected to everyone. Papyrus and Sans continued to live together on the surface. Papyrus found a position as a waiter at an italian restaurant, hoping to someday graduate to becoming the kitchen’s certified “Master Pasta Chef”, as he called it. Sans hadn’t found a formal job yet, but Toriel was willing to support him and his brother in exchange for looking after Frisk every now and then.

Once things had managed to settle for everyone, Toriel insisted everyone join her and Frisk for a small gathering to celebrate their new lives. They all managed to make it, as it was the first time they were able to meet everyone in person since arriving on the surface. Much of the evening was just spent talking about everything that had happened to everyone in the recent months. Toriel, Papyrus, and Undyne worked together to cook dinner for everyone, which ended up turning into a lesson on kitchen safety. When they had finally finished, Toriel put a pie in the oven for dessert, and everyone sat down for their first dinner together as a family. It wasn’t the best food, as Toriel was unable to stop Undyne from taking a few liberties in the recipe, but it was each other’s company they cared for the most. When they were finished eating, Frisk said they were tired, and, after everyone gave them a hug, they wished everyone goodnight and headed to bed.

Too full of food to stay attentive, Sans sat at the table in a daze, simply listening to everyone talk. As the night winded down, so did the conversations. The family spoke in hushed tones, keeping a relaxing atmosphere that Sans found himself lost in. He had almost fallen asleep with his head resting in his folded arms when a “DING” came from the oven. Sans lifted himself off the table and stretched.

“Oh, the pie! I had almost forgotten. It’s a shame Frisk went to bed already…”

Sans watched as Toriel stood up to retrieve the pie, but his focus was quickly pulled as he saw a bright, yellow light quickly fly by the window behind her, far too close to be a passing car. Sans wondered about the light for a few seconds before being hit with a sudden realization. His fatigue seemed to disappear entirely as he bolted up out of his chair, staring at the window.

“Sans? What’s up, dude?” Undyne questioned.

Sans quickly remembered where he was, and realized how odd his sudden movement must have seemed to everyone. He had even caused his chair to skid a few inches behind him. Looking around, he saw only confused faces.

Papyrus chimed in. “Sans, I know you like sweets, but please, at least wait for Toriel to remove the pie from the oven.”

“huh? o-oh, uh...yeah...sorry, i just umm…” Sans looked back to the window for a second, and then back to Papyrus. “i just need to go...stand outside for a minute. it’s, uh, kind of warm in here.”

The family exchanged odd looks as Sans awkwardly shuffled towards the front door and put his shoes on.

“Well alright, but the pie will only take a few minutes to cool! Don’t spend too long out there if you want some while it’s still hot!” Toriel called from across the room.

“y-yeah, i won’t be too long!” Sans stammered, as he gave a stiff wave and stepped outside.

Sans hastened towards the sidewalk, trying to locate where the light had gone. He recounted what direction he saw the light fly in, and walked that way. He scanned the entire way to the end of the block for the light, but couldn’t seem to find any sign of it. He turned around, ready to give up, but found himself staring directly into something bright, causing him to recoil. He blinked rapidly and grunted from the sharp pain in his eye sockets.

“geez, man, didn’t anyone ever tell you not to shine lights in people’s eyes!?”

“Sorry, I can’t exactly help it.”

Sans recognized the voice, and looked up. It was the light from three months ago on the mountain.

“Uhm...It’s…’The Player’, right?” he asked.

“Correct. Nice to see you, Sans.” they replied.

“N-...Nice to see you too.”

The two stared at each other in silence for a moment, until The Player spoke up in a serious tone. “Listen...I hate to do this again, but I need to talk to you about something...rather important.”


	4. Technical Difficulties

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans learns more of the dangers his universe is presented with, and begins to get a better picture of just who "The Player" is.
> 
> (( I accidentally labelled this fic as for "general" audiences in the beginning, when it probably should have been "teen". There will be swearing in this chapter, so if that's something that might bother you, this is just a warning of what you're getting into. ))

“I have reason to believe your world is in danger of destruction.”

Sans’ breathing became heavy when he heard this. The little hope he had somehow been able to hold on to these past few months had suddenly vanished in a matter of seconds. He felt a tension in his throat as he got more and more worked up. Without thinking, Sans covered his mouth and looked down.

The Player stopped for a few seconds before speaking again. “I know it might be a lot to take in, but I need your--”

“it’s the timelines, isn’t it?” Sans spoke quietly, but the Player’s words were still stopped in their tracks by Sans’ sudden interjection.

“I--...I’m sorry?”

Sans was overcome with anger. “The TIMELINES! I was right, wasn’t I?!”

“Sans, that’s not--”

“I can’t BELIEVE I let you trick me like that, I let you LIE to me! Despite YEARS of research backing me up, I still let myself be convinced that this world had a _chance_! BY YOU! _WHAT EVEN ARE YOU?!_ ”

Sans’ voice became shaky, as tears began forming on the edges if his eye sockets.

“i mean, _‘the player’? ‘extended our timeline’? ‘gave our world a second chance’?_ i was so vulnerable, i let myself believe your _impossible_ story just to feel something other than grief! why would you do that to me? how COULD you do that to me?!”

The Player said nothing in response.

 

Toriel glanced over towards the hallway. She contemplated cutting a slice of pie for Frisk as a nice surprise for them before they went to bed. After all, “apricot” was a new recipe to her that seemed exceptionally popular with the rest of the family, and she didn’t want Frisk to miss out on any. Looking back down at how much pie was left, she decided it would be a nice, reasonable gesture. She grabbed a plate and put a sizeable chunk of pie on it.

“I’ll be back in a moment, I just want to ensure some pie is given to Frisk. I’m going to see if they are still awake.”

 

“WELL?! WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY FOR YOURSELF, YOU DIRTY LIAR?!”

“You have forty seconds.”

Sans’ fists unclenched as his expression went from an angry glower to wide-eyed and fearful.

“Wh--...what are you...?”

“You still believe this world’s timeline is going to end, despite what I’ve tried to tell you? That’s fine. I’ll give you the exact moment your existence comes to a close so you can _relish_ in what you have left of it.”

The Player’s voice had completely lost its soothing tone and felt only jaded and malevolent. Whatever sympathy they once had for Sans was gone entirely.

“Right now, Toriel is leaving a slice of pie on the floor in Frisk’s room. The moment she closes the door, your timeline ends. You’ve got about twenty seconds now.”

Sans’ mind became a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions. He wanted to lash out. He felt like he would slump over and cry. He took pride in knowing he was always right, but that meant the end was coming. He wanted to be with his family.

He stumbled past the floating light, hoping to reach someone before everything came to an end. His limbs wouldn’t cooperate, though, and he staggered forwards only a short ways before falling forward. He wanted to get up, to run back into Toriel’s living room and wait for the end with everyone else, but he couldn’t force himself to his feet. Instead, he sat up and pulled his hood over his eyes.

 

Unfortunately, Frisk seemed to be fast asleep already. Toriel decided she would simply leave the slice in their room for whenever they woke up. Their room was inarguably a mess, with a variety of drawings and “collections” Frisk had started scattered around the floor and plastered on every wall. At the very least, there was enough room to walk... _just_ enough. Toriel decided to leave the pie on the floor in a spot where it would be easily seen. She turned to leave.

 

“Ten seconds.”

Sans clutched the sides of his head, his tears now flowing as he breathed quickly and heavily. He wasn’t sure what to do. He wasn’t sure there was even anything he _could_ do. He struggled to say something, but found himself unable to summon his voice.

 

Toriel gave Frisk one last look from the doorway. She took a moment to reflect on everything that had led to this one moment. She could finally call herself a content mother once again, and had a new life and loving family to boot. Had Frisk made the decision to stay with her all that time ago, she would still be trapped behind that stone door, and monsters may have never reached the surface peacefully. Frisk saved not only her, but all of monsterkind. She was so, so proud.

 

“Five...Four...”

Sans covered his eyes and braced for the end.

 

Toriel quickly realized that the light from down the hall might wake Frisk, and decided to leave her reflective thoughts for later, maybe to share with Frisk at another time. She slowly pulled on the door, causing it to creak slightly.

 

“Two…”

Sans tensed his limbs and let out a wail through gritted teeth.

 

***KA-LUNK***

 

…

 

Toriel walked back down the hallway.

 

A few more seconds passed.

Sans slowly uncovered an eye socket. He was looking down at his legs. Moving them revealed his shoes and the pavement underneath him. He uncovered his other socket and whirled around to inspect the surrounding area. The streetlamps still shone the same yellowish light, the trees rustled in the gentle breeze, and the moon and stars still hung in the sky. Not a single thing was out of place. He looked back to the glowing light above him.

“Welcome to Hell, bitch.” it responded.

“wh--what?”

“That’s obviously where we must be, since this timeline just ended, right? It’s _inconceivable_ that there could be any ulterior force working to circumvent that, so we MUST be in hell. After all, I’m a ‘dirty liar’ who only ever wanted to trick you into being legitimately happy for once.”

Sans’ head was spinning. He was mostly over his initial panic, but the Player’s sudden sarcastically aggressive tone was a sharp contrast to his previous impression of them.

“You gonna spend the rest of the night on the ground, or are you gonna get up and listen to what I have to say? Because we have a LOT to talk about in what little time I have right now, and I still haven’t even started yet.”

The Player’s sudden query took Sans off guard, but he managed to bring himself to his feet.

“Alright, good. Now give me a second, I need to show you something.”

Sans stood uncomfortably in front of the light. It was difficult coming to terms with the fact that this light he was talking to was some kind of controlling force over the universe he now found himself in, especially after the berating it had just dealt him. He knew he had set the Player off with their overreaction, but he wasn’t sure what to say to try to make amends. How does one appease the deity that controls their universe? Should he just apologize? Should he sell the right of his firstborn son? He opened his mouth to speak, but was quickly cut off.

“Okay, you should be seeing a graph that’s sort of shaped like a tree somewhere in front of you. Do you see that?”

“uh...n-no.”

“Ugh, okay….How about now?”

“still nothing.”

The Player sighed loudly. “Alright, give me a minute…”

Sans waited in silence for about half a minute for something to happen, but nothing did. The Player didn’t talk, nothing appeared. Finally Sans decided to speak up.

“so uhh...is something supposed to be ha--”

“Shhhh-sh-sh, just shut up for a second, I’m trying to get this to work…”

Sans became agitated from the Player’s dismissive response. “what are you talking about? if you’re gonna show me something, can’t you just do it already?”

The Player snapped in response. "For shit's sake, Sans, running a universe for the first time isn't that fucking easy. I've already got my fingers stickin' halfway into this damn thing, and it feels like gross primordial ooze in here. And let me tell you, not only does it feel gross, it's hard to get it out from under your nails, too."

Sans went dead silent, not daring to say anything else that might make things worse. He had never talked to a universe-ruling deity before, but he had always imagined that they would hold a calm and eloquent demeanor at all times. _This_ felt unprecedented.

"I gotta pull all this shit just to _talk_ to you, and I don't wanna risk popping this thing before I even know what the hell is going on with it--I mean, I barely know how I managed to project THIS into your world. And for the record, since I may not have arms right now, I attempted gesturing to literally whatever it is you're seeing me as right now. I honestly don't even know what you're looking at."

Everything the Player just said gone entirely over Sans’ head, but he knew to be afraid of the wrath of a deity this powerful. The Player took a few deep breaths before continuing.

“Look, there’s only a few more things I can try, so just give me a minute or two, alright?”

“...alright.”

Sans tried to calm himself down. In an effort to distract himself for even a few seconds, he looked up at the stars, searching for constellations. He had always had a fascination with them, but the closest thing he had ever seen were the glowing gemstones on the ceiling of Waterfall. The real things were so much more beautiful. As he stared, though, he noticed that they seemed to grow dimmer, as the sky seemed to rapidly illuminate. He turned his head to the horizon and noticed the sun rising very, very quickly on the eastern horizon. Last he had checked, though, it was only 10pm.

“uu--uuuhhhh…” he stammered.

“What? What? Did something happen?”

“th--the sun is...rising?”

“The sun can’t be rising, it’s only--WAIT, SHIT!!”

The sun quickly stopped in the sky and ran back down over the horizon again, bringing the moon and stars back again. Sans was beyond dumbfounded: he was terrified.

“w-was that you?! did you just--”

“SHHHH--SHUT UP, YOU DIDN'T SEE ANYTHING!!”

“but that--the sun was coming up! it’s like 10pm!”

“SANS, SHUT UP, NO ONE SAW THAT BECAUSE IT _DIDN'T HAPPEN!!_ I DEFINITELY, FOR SURE, DID _NOT_ MAKE THE SUN RISE AT 10PM! WHAT SUN?! _THERE IS NO SUN!!_ ”

Sans stood back a bit as the floating light only seemed to emit a few mumbled phrases of self-reassurance and heavy breathing, clearly in a panic. He wasn’t sure how safe he felt, knowing the one controlling their universe was _this_ incompetent.

“i, uhh...i’ll just p-pretend that never happened, ‘kay?”

The Player seemed somewhat calmed by those words. “Thanks...I don’t know what everyone else’s reactions will be, but...thanks.”

It was quiet for a few more seconds, until a focused beam emitted from the floating light, projecting a graph onto the ground. From left to right, it started off as a colorless base that then split and interwove into branches of different colors. With the exception of a couple lines, it was impossible to tell which way each line went by the end.

“Please tell me I didn’t just shatter the moon or something.”

“no, there’s just a graph shaped like a tree on the ground.”

“Alright, good! Fantastic! Now…” The Player began, then took a moment to collect their thoughts. “This graph represents the fracturing of timelines in your original universe. As you can see, there’s a LOT of divergence points, and a few of the new timelines have varying lengths. Now, do you see the one on the top that’s blue?”

“yeah.”

“That’s your timeline. It’s the one I based this world on, since it had the best outcome.”

“okay, so what’s the problem?”

“The problem is that...I wasn’t careful enough, and I accidentally created a second timeline and it’s essentially leeching off of yours.”

“wait, what? how?”

“Do you see that red timeline on the bottom?”

“...do you mean the red timeline or the timeline on the bottom? because the bottom one is yellow.”

“Wha--But I--...Fuck it, you see the _yellow_ timeline on the bottom?”

“yeah, is that the leaching timeline?”

“Well, not exactly. It started out there, but...let’s just say it reset and now it’s a different timeline.”

“so why does the yellow one matter, then?”

“Because it directly caused the leaching timeline.”

“how?”

“It’s a long story that involves the story of someone you’ve probably never met before...I’ll tell you some other time.”

“o-kay, so which is the leaching timeline?”

A thick, lime green line appeared next to the blue branch that represented Sans’ universe, following next to it the whole way to the end of the graph.

“That purple line is the other timeline.”

“uhh...green?”

“Whatever. The point is that a force from the re--I mean, YELLOW timeline found a way to reset and is trying to manipulate the universe such that it follows essentially the same way as yours.”

“so? why is that so bad?”

“Well, for starters, it’s putting a limit on just how much of each universe can just...exist.”

“what does that even mean?”

“Ugh, umm...Think about your universe as like…like a microwaveable burrito, right?”

“...a microwaveable burrito?”

“Shut up, I’m trying to make this easy to understand. So, if you put one in the microwave and heat it up for the recommended time, your burrito is nice and hot, right?”

“yeah…?”

“But when you try and put in two at the same time, they don’t both get cooked the same as if there’s only one, right? They’re both still frozen in the middle.”

“okay, so?”

“That’s basically your universe. Since both timelines are feeding off of the same energy, they’re both still ‘cold’, you know?”

“uh-huh…”

The Player was silent, expecting some sense of understanding from Sans, but none ever seemed to show on the skeleton’s face.

“Agh, okay, that sounded _really_ stupid, but what I’m trying to get across is that that universe was never supposed to exist in the first place and it’s causing a lot of trouble for everyone involved.”

“i’m just sort of...not entirely getting all this…”

“Okay, maybe something more tangible then… So, think of how happy you are right now. You’re on the surface, living with your brother, with a new family of seven that all really cares for each other. You’d say you’re pretty happy now, right?”

“i mean, yeah, of course.”

“Imagine if someone tried to murder you and your family right now, and then went on to kill every other living thing in existence, and possibly even existence itself after that. That’s what this other force’s goal is.”

Sans felt a pressure in his chest intensify.

“It’s a bit to take in, huh?”

“just a bit…”

“Well, I don’t need an answer from you right now, nor can I really stick around long enough to get one, but I am going to need it soon. The other timeline is progressing a short ways behind yours, but it won’t be long before their destruction starts, and I’ll need your help before that happens.”

“what do you even need me for?”

“I’d tell you, but I don’t really have the time right now. This long-distance call is starting to get rather expensive. I’ll be visiting you over the next few days to talk about this, though, so you can ask me more questions then.”

“uhh...okay…”

“Listen, just...try to enjoy the rest of your evening, alright? I know this is all some pretty heavy stuff, but you’ve got...well, you’ve got some time. Just relax.”

“yeah, thanks...that’ll be easy.”

“Try not to worry about it. Just enjoy the rest of the evening with your family. I’ll see you later.”

The light began to fade into nothingness before quickly illuminating again.

“Oh, and if the sun rises in the west tomorrow, please let me know…That’s not supposed to happen.”

The light then vanished, leaving Sans alone once again. He put a hand on his head. Trying to process everything he had just been told was giving him a migraine. He slowly made the trek back to Toriel’s front door. He gripped the door handle, but hesitated opening it for a few seconds, wondering if this news was something he should share with everyone else. The door then suddenly swung inwards, causing Sans to stumble into Toriel’s entryway. Sans looked up to see Papyrus staring curiously at him.

“Ah, Sans! There you are! I was just about to come find you. Are you doing alright?”

“y-...yeah, bro, why wouldn’t i be?”

“Hmm...Well, no matter, I suppose. It’s starting to get late, so we should really be leaving soon.”

“alright, i’ll just tell everyone goodbye.”

Sans went around, saying goodnight to everyone else on his way out. They all asked him if he remembered seeing the sky light up while he was outside, but he frantically tried to convince them that it had been nothing. They also asked to set up more times to see each other as a family like they had tonight. Happy as he was to get more time with them all, he wondered how long it would last if they would all potentially be lead to ruination at the hands of some malicious demon from another timeline. Sans played off being excited to see everyone more often, but spirits began to drop again.

Sans carried a wrapped plate of Toriel’s pie in his hands. She made sure to save him some to eat at home: a gesture he very much appreciated, but that rang in his mind for reasons he couldn’t seem to pick out at first. As he and Papyrus were on their way out, Sans suddenly remembered something from his conversation with the Player. He whipped around.

“hey, toriel?”

“Hm? Yes Sans? Did you forget something?”

“n-no, uh...I just wanted to ask…”

He struggled to find a way to get the information from her, without spilling anything that had happened outside.

“did you uh...manage to save some of that pie for frisk? they were telling me earlier how excited they were to try some.”

“Oh! I’m glad you were concerned, but there’s no need to worry. I left some for them in their room.”

“ah...yeah, I figured you would, but i just wanted to make sure. thanks.”

The brothers left the house and drove home. Usually, Sans took these moments to strike up conversations with his brother, usually to practice new jokes and puns on him; however, on this ride, Sans did little more than stare at the pie in his hands, trying to come to terms with everything he had learned that night.


End file.
